Contract awarded for first three Southern Suburbs Railway stations

6/11/04

The Gallop Government has awarded the contract for construction of the first three stations on the new Southern Suburbs Railway to John Holland Pty Ltd.

The $32million contract, Package D, is for construction of the Canning Bridge, Bull Creek and Murdoch railway stations - predicted to be among the busiest commuter stations when the southern line opens in 2006.

The three stations are the first of nine stations to be built between the Narrows Bridge and Mandurah as part of the $1.518billion New MetroRail Project that will double the capacity of Perth's passenger rail network.

The New MetroRail Project also includes the Thornlie spur line, the extension of the Joondalup line to Clarkson and new railcars for the network.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the Package D contract had been awarded within New MetroRail budget parameters.

Ms MacTiernan congratulated John Holland Pty Ltd on securing the project.

"John Holland successfully built the new Clarkson Station for the Northern Suburbs Railway extension and is the lead contractor in the RailLink Joint Venture, which earlier this year won the contract to build the Southern Suburbs Railway to Mandurah," she said.

"The company is one of our key partners in delivering a world-class public transport system for the people of the metropolitan area."

Work on the new stations will start in May next year after John Holland takes possession of the sites and preparatory earthworks at Murdoch and Bull Creek are already under way.

Peak period services will see a train pull into the Murdoch and Bull Creek stations every five minutes to cater for 8,000 passenger boardings a day.

Murdoch and Bull Creek stations will be major transit interchanges with feeder bus services, car drop off/pick up facilities, pedestrian and bicycle access and parking for more than 1,500 cars.

Travel time to Perth will be 11 minutes from Murdoch and nine minutes from Bull Creek.

The Canning Bridge Station will be located on the site of the existing bus interchange and is the only station on the Southern Suburbs Railway where long-term parking cannot be provided, but special attention will be given to high quality feeder bus services, such as to Curtin University.

Travel time to Perth from the Canning Bridge Station will be six minutes and train services in the peaks will be at a five-minute frequency.

Riverton MLA Tony McRae said the new stations would offer a range of improved travel options for local residents.

"The Southern Suburbs Railway really will open up new travel choices for local residents," Mr McRae said.

"People will have a choice of departing from two local stations, heading either north or south.

"If you are catching a train into the city, there will be a choice of exits at two stations or a continuous journey to the northern suburbs without having to change trains.

"A journey south will take you to Rockingham and Mandurah in air conditioned comfort and at a fraction of the cost to drive.

"With peak period trains every five minutes, I expect the new railway will be very popular with local commuters."

Mr McRae said he was working with the Public Transport Authority to ensure local residents were provided with good bus links to the rail stations.

Ms MacTiernan said contracts to build the remaining six stations on the southern line would be awarded in the first half of next year.

The Minister said the Gallop Government's ability to deliver the projects such as New MetroRail was mainly due to good management of the State's finances.

"Since 2001, Labor has delivered four balanced budgets, allowing us to push ahead with the expansion of the metropolitan public transport system," she said.

"For more than 40 years, only Labor Governments have built public transport systems because we know it is good for our city, it is good for the environment and it is good for people's hip pockets."